Caldo de Gallego de Cuba

Caldo Gallego de Cuba with potatoes, squash, carrots, greens and beans.

This soup is a wonderful bridge between seasons. By cooking the ingredients in stages, you can have a week’s worth of hearty meals without much stove time. While this recipe is vegetarian, the soup comes from Spain via Cuba and is traditionally made with ham hocks or sausage.

1 c. cooked white beans or white tepary beans, (rinse and drain canned beans if using)
1 c. parboiled yukon gold potatoes, 2” pieces
OR 1 c. cooked winter squash, cut into 1” pieces
1 t. oil
1 c. small dice spring onion
OR 1 c. thinly sliced leeks (thoroughly cleaned and drained)
2-3 carrots, sliced or diced
2 T. minced green garlic or spring garlic
¼ t. oregano
¼ t. cumin
½ t. salt, plus more to taste
3 quarts chicken stock, vegetable stock or water (check sodium content of store-bought stock)
3-4 c. hearty greens, like chard, collards or kale, washed, stems removed, leaves torn into 2” pieces

In a 6 qt. soup pot or dutch oven, sweat onion or leeks in oil over medium high heat, add carrots, cook until onion is translucent. Add garlic and spices, cook 1-2 minutes, until fragrant. Add stock or water. Bring to a simmer.

Add beans and parboiled potatoes or squash, return to a simmer. Add greens and salt.

Simmer on medium low heat for 10-12 minutes, until greens are tender and everything is heated through, but not agitated or mushy. Taste and adjust salt as needed. Serve or refrigerate for later use (soup always tastes better the second day!)

Soak dried beans overnight, change water and cook over medium heat with a bay leaf until gently simmering. Cover and reduce to low heat. Cook 1-2 hours until beans soften. Season with salt (1 t. per cup of beans) and continue cooking, covered, over very low heat for another 30-60 minutes. Beans should be creamy, not mushy. Remove from heat and let rest 20 minutes. 1 cup of dried beans yields 3 cups cooked. Cook beans with a ham hock, if desired.